Our first question revolves around a very classic problem in traditional arts – do people actually use kata during sparring?

Part of the inefficient, ritualized stereotype that goes along with traditional arts stems directly from this issue. Furthermore, when watching sparring at any tournament or even online you are likely to see a grand total of zero exchanges that look like kata.

Check out my perspective on the matter:

The cut-to video utilized in the video above is from a previous post entitled Exploring the Value of Nai Hanchi. Check out the full post if you are interested in a more specific study of this kata/application/combat type question.

Let’s do something new and interesting! I’m looking to take 5 questions and answer one per day all next week. This will give you a chance to get a fresh perspective on an issue you’ve been pondering over, and me a chance to address some matters I may not have thought to cover.

The specific subject matter is up to you. It can be related to kobudo, philosophy, training, karate, mindset, the blog…pretty much anything you’ve been wondering about.

Leave your question in the comment section below or toss it up on facebook. I’d like to gather as many as I can so I have a healthy variety to choose from.

There’s a company that’s been on my radar for awhile called Vook. Vook is an ebook and app focused group that has managed to take the best qualities of written content and video and put them together in an attractive way.

Frequent viewers of this blog know I personally utilize a lot of video and writing to get concepts across, so I knew Vook had a chance to be relevant in the martial arts.

Lo and behold, our friends who study Tae Kwon Do have been treated to an app of their very own.

The Vook TKD app is hosted by Steve Rapport, 5th Dan. Mr. Rapport has a very easy way about him and is a pleasure to watch on film. As you can see in the above picture, this TKD app is kid-centric.

I feel the primary audience could be parents looking to bring their children’s study home with them after regular dojang time. Having this kind of guide could be quite useful, especially if it is palm-sized and easily navigable. While the young child is practicing kicks, the mother/father could be comparing against this:

Value for certain! You’ll notice I’m being uncritical about the light nature of the content. That’s actually one thing I like about the approach here – it isn’t claiming death touches in 5 easy steps. It’s a fun guide to help young students in an easy to digest format.